1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an absorption the heat pump apparatus which absorbs heat of the indoor air and releases the heat into the outdoor air when the apparatus is in cooling operation and which absorbs the heat of the outdoor air and releases the heat into the indoor air when the apparatus is in heating operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional apparatus, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 60-245973, piping arrangements for cooling water and cold water are provided to connect with an absorber, a condenser and an evaporator so that the cooling operation and the heating operation can be switched over to the other by the use of these piping arrangements in different manners for the respective operations.
Alternatively, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 61-168758, there are provided an air-cooled condenser for the cooling operation and a water-cooled condenser for the heating operation, and an air-cooled heat exchanger and a water-cooled heat exchanger are provided and connected with each other through vapor passages to serve as an evaporator and an absorber. These components are switched over in usage in such a manner that, during the cooling operation, the water-cooled heat exchanger serves as the evaporator and the air-cooled heat exchanger serves as the absorber, and that, during the heating operation, the air-cooled heat exchanger serves as the evaporator and the water-cooled heat exchanger serves as the absorber.
In the conventional apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 60-245973, the piping arrangements required for cooling water and cold water are required, gives rise to a problem that it takes much time and much labor to perform the maintenance of the water or these piping arrangements. Further, the apparatus is low in thermal efficiency because the heat is indirectly transferred by means of water, and has a defect that the cooling and heating operations cannot be effected simultaneously because the piping arrangements are used for either the cooling operation or the heating operation at on time.
In the other conventional apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 61-168758, the different condensers are required respectively for the cooling operation and the heating operation, and consequently, it is necessary to switch the vapor conduits of large cross-sectional areas with one another, resulting in a problem that the whole apparatus is large in size. Besides, the absorber and the evaporator are replaced with each other to switch the cooling operation and the heating operation with each other, so that their performances are inferior to those of heat exchangers which are used for an exclusive purposes, and that the cooling and heating operations cannot be performed simultaneously.
In addition, in either conventional apparatus described above, a flowing liquid screen of solution or coolant is formed in each of the absorber, the condenser and the evaporator, and the coolant vapor is absorbed by or condensed on the liquid screen, or the coolant vapor is evaporated from the liquid screen. Accordingly, efficiency of the heat exchange is dependent on the thickness of the liquid screen and the flowing velocity thereof, and it is difficult to improve the capabilities of these devices, whereas the whole apparatus unfavorably is large in size.